Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-12-30
PUBLISHING CO., Publishers THE GAZETTE, FOI
CONTAMINATION AT SEA.
Vessels Peril in Thick Fog-Two Plans
for Relief Proposed.

|
for Relief Proposed.
Communication at Sea" is msde tn
subject of sn article by Park BENJAMIN il
the current number of the Forum. TIL,
gres. ocean steamer, ne says, of all thing
in the world is the most perfect embodi
ment of mans victory over the forces o
/ nature. But despite all her maryelous
| mechanism, despite al the genius an(
skill lavished upon her internal detail
she is to all intents and pur
poses lost when out OF sighs 81
land she plunges into fcg-bsnk-aao'
wrecked, but cut Off completely tom
communication with the world. I. She Can
not indicate her whereabouts 10 another
vessel, and ia unable to determine .fel
own position. In brief, shs is face C
face with the greatest peril OF the sea, land
the fact remains that the problem Of Sc
curing intercommuIicstion between
ships in thick weather still resists solu-
ton. The writer finds the reason for
this failure in the lack OF natural invent
i've ability On the part OF sailors and the
general ignorance of the conditions of
the problem on the part OF lsudsmen.
THE PRESENT SIGNALS.
Ships at sea row communicate with
each other either by visible or sudible
signals. The visible signals are flags Of
different colors and patterns, which rep
resent letters or numbers indicated to
correspond to certain words or phras es
in signal book, which in the o-cslled
International Code is printed in all Ian
gueges. Thus in clear weather vessels
have no difficulty in transmitting infor-
nation to one another. At night combi-
nations Of colored lights in long and short
flashes take the place OF flags. Audible
signals are whistles, bells and horns. No
small amount of ingenuity has been
devoted to contriying variations in the
sounds emitted so as to indicate the
course of the vessel. Long and short
blasts are also arranged to represent tel
egraphic characters, and even the employ
ment of musical phrases analogous to
bugle calls have been suggested. The
objections to sound signals increase in
the extent to which they call for must
However, only the very simplest Of these
signals have come into use, and all of
them during foggy weather are likely to
prove delusions and snares.
SHOULD SPEED BE REDUCED IN FEC?
It is much debated question whether
the speed of vessel should be reduced
during fog. To reduce the speed de-
creases the danger of coltiding with
another craft, but augments the peril of
ones vessel being. run into, inasmuch as
she necessarily remains longer in the
dangerous situation. The writer ssys:
The arguments in favor OF the main
tenance of high speed are by no means
without force. II modern 5000 Or 5000
ton steamer strikes another vessel square
~ it matters very little whether the
former be moving at two knots or twenty
knots per hour. She must have steer
sge-way in order to keep on. of the dan
ysrous trough OF the ses and to be under
control.
Calling steersge-Way S speed Of but
,wo knots per hour, it requires but 8
simple arithmeticsl computation to show
hat the striking energy of the huge mass
S so enormous as to be practically IRE
'istible by the side of any floating struc-
ure. Az between speed Of ten knots
md twenty knots, the effect due to the